Henry L. Davis

A consortium of area hospitals formed to improve Western New York health care is looking into the feasibility of creating a State University of Buffalo medical center to change the current system in which medical education is spread among six hospitals.However, a consortium leader cautioned that the medical center may not be one institution, as is common at most other…

Helen Dean's one good eye can see only a bit of light, make out a few shapes and movements.You won't hear her complain, though.By implanting a plastic valve to drain fluid from her eye, doctors at the Erie County Medical Center stopped the glaucoma that had stolen most of her vision in just the last two years and that threatened to make her completely blind a few more…

A roomful of first-graders clapped their hands and stomped their feet Monday as they were inducted into an educational program that, it is hoped, will make them part of a smoke-free generation.The pupils will be part of a national campaign to stop smoking among youths that will follow them through school until they graduate in 2000.Erie County picked city and suburban…

Spurred by above-average infant mortality rates and little prenatal care among low-income women, the state unveiled a new program Monday to improve health care in five "high risk" Buffalo neighborhoods."People who need health care must know where the resources are, and we must be able to link these people with those resources," said Dr. Linda A. Randolph, director of …

Smokers who quit are more likely to stay away from cigarettes if their best friends play the comforting pal instead of the badgering nag.That's one of the findings of a new study on how someone's friends and relatives can help or hurt chances of kicking the nicotine habit.It also suggests some relief for those quitters who, in addition to grieving over the loss of the…

Influenza has proved a tricky warrior in the battle against it because the virus is constantly able to alter its identity.Just as the human body becomes immune to one strain, a new variation strikes. The result is regular epidemics that every year in the United States make 35 million to 70 million people ill and kill an average 20,000 people. It's most serious among s…

Matthew Matlak returns home today from Children's Hospital, just three weeks after being the youngest newborn -- at age 40 hours -- to survive a complicated heart surgery to correct a life-threatening congenital defect.Matthew was born Sept. 17 in the Allegany County village of Wellsville, the third son of Lugene and David Matlak.Matthew, who weighed 6 pounds, 15 1/2 …

Two of Western New York's health maintenance organizations are seeking premium rate increases effective Jan. 1 to offset spiraling health-care costs.Independent Health Association is asking the state to approve an average 7.2 percent increase for its 111,000 members. Health Care Plan has proposed an average 12.65 percent boost for its 62,250 members.They follow the an…

Erie County Medical Center can't keep up with the increasing number of elderly people who don't require hospital care but are taking up beds because of lack of space in nursing homes."This continues to be a significant problem," George H. McCoy, the hospital's chief executive officer, said Tuesday during the medical center's board of managers meeting.These "alternate …

Rivals for Congress Back Review Of Decision on Eden Compressor Candidates for the 31st Congressional District on Monday promised Eden residents that if elected they will insist on a public review of any decision to allow a natural gas compressor station in the town.Both Erie County Clerk David J. Swarts and Assemblyman L. William Paxon, R-Newstead, told the resident…

A new service at Millard Fillmore Hospital aims to fine-tune the wiring in the heart's electrical system, particularly after a heart attack, to keep it beating at a normal rate.Physicians at the hospital are using a test called an electrophysiology study to check the heart's electrical activity and prescribe medicine to prevent irregular heartbeats.The service, previo…

The Visiting Nurses Association and Millard Fillmore Hospitals' Vitalnet Group will form the largest home health-care agency in Western New York in a proposed merger announced Wednesday."This relationship will change the face of health care here," said Jan R. Jennings, president and chief executive officer of Millard Fillmore Hospitals.The new company will offer nursi…

The Visiting Nurses Association and Millard Fillmore Hospitals' Vitalnet Group will form the largest home health-care agency in Western New York in a proposed merger announced today."This relationship will change the face of health care here," said Jan R. Jennings, president and chief executive officer of Millard Fillmore Hospitals.The new company will offer nursing c…

An eight-county task force was formed today to draw a blueprint for community action to battle AIDS in Western New York.The Coalition Task Force on AIDS hopes to devise a plan for the prevention and treatment of the deadly disease before it becomes a major health crisis in Western New York.New York State's official count of AIDS cases in this region is low compared wi…

State University of Buffalo researchers will play a key role in a $4.6 million research project to develop an artificial hemoglobin that could be used as a blood substitute.The goal is to turn bacteria or yeast into microscopic hemoglobin factories. An artificial hemoglobin produced in enough quantity could serve as a universal blood type, with great commercial potent…